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Devious Scam In Which The Check They Send You Clears

There’s a really devious scam going around worth mentioning because of
one compelling tactic the scammers use.

My dad received a letter the other day “informing” him that he was the
lucky winner of some unclaimed prize money. Below is the letter he
received.

They sent him a check for \$1,940 dollars and told him that all he needs
to do to claim the prize money is deposit the check and send back a
portion of that money for processing fees and identification purposes.

My dad’s first thought (which I imagine yours is as well) was, Oh! This
must be a scam. They expect me to deposit their check and then send them
a check from my bank account. After a few days, their check won’t clear
and they’ll have my money.

For laughs, my dad decided to call the guy up to see what sort of crazy
explanation he would provide. His answer caught my dad off-guard. He
told him to wait till the check clears before sending them a check.

Huh? Wait a minute. So they want me to wait till the check clears?
Doesn’t that mean the money is fully in my account? What if I never send
them a check? I could just keep the money. If this is a scam, how are
they making money?**

Calling the Better Business
Bureau provided the
answer. They told my dad under no circumstances should he deposit that
check. Yes, the check will clear, but probably because it was written by
another victim defrauded by this same scam. Later when the scam is
discovered by that victim, my dad would be liable for depositing a
fraudelent check.

What’s
really makes this scam compelling and likely to sucker a lot of people
into falling for it is the mistaken belief that once a check clears, the
money is in the clear. It’s not.

In any case, if you receive such a scam letter, the proper authorities
to report it to is not the FBI but the Postal
Inspectors,
the law enforcement wing of the United States Postal Service (and the
subject of a really cheesy movie, The
Inspectors
starring Louis Gosset Jr.).

I would suggest warning your family members who are prone to such scams.
Especially those who consistently fall for those PayPal emails and keep
opening up pictures of Anna Kournikova sent via email.